Back to regular programming

It’s been a while. I was so busy that I’ve measured my days with the things I missed. All the movies that were shown on the big screen since April. Lea Salonga in Cats. The whole third season of True Blood. The premiere of the second season of Glee, which featured Charice Pempengco. The premiere episode of Dexter, Season 5. Showbiz news, like that Mariel-Robin story. Or evil gossip, like that much ado about vaginal locking.

The one thing that I missed on purpose, however, was the John Mayer concert, which I swapped for more of the same thing that kept me so busy for half of this year: spending time with people I helped coach for much of this year, people that I had grown to love.

The final weeks of coaching had built up to a crescendo that pleaded I drop most of my life’s extras, and I surrendered to that request. Life coaching was a tough and yet rewarding journey. I can only call it that, a journey, because I truly did go on a physical, emotional, and spiritual ride with the 50 students we had for the 70 days the program lasted. I’d say there was enough energy to power a lifetime of telenovelas. But it’s over now, and it’s back to regular programming.

Yesterday, over breakfast, I read my first complete newspaper after a long time. I read the pages from cover to cover, skipping only the uninteresting parts. I had thought I hadn’t missed much, and maybe I hadn’t, if you consider the whole scheme of things and that millions of lives are still being lived fully off the information grid. But I am a creature of communication; I feed off media. I just cannot be not in touch. I just cannot not comment.

And so, my belated words for belated events that made entertainment history.

Robin and Mariel got married in India. I’m crossing my fingers Mariel Rodriguez won’t ever regret what she did for love, which was leave a show and elope to get married at the Taj Mahal. The romantic in me is rooting for the lovers, who’ve clearly proven they can give put their love over and above the promises of stardom. However, the pragmatic in me can’t help but think Robin has nothing to lose and everything to gain, while Mariel could very well be standing on the thin line that divides success in the entertainment industry and the slow decline to anonymity. But dear Universe, make me wrong, since Robin’s one man that’d better settle down.

John Lloyd Cruz and Shaina Magdayao survived a nasty episode. I don’t envy the young couple and the people who had to deal with the whole public relations nightmare that ensued. Rumor or not, this was just plain nasty. I missed ABS-CBN’s counter-strategy, so I won’t be able to comment on that. But what I can say, though, is that, rumor or not, JLC and Shaina deserved some compassion.

Kris Aquino left Pilipinas Win na Win. How could she handle the gap left by Willie Revillame all alone? When Robin and Mariel bolted for marital bliss, it was downhill from then on. Of course Kris deserves a better show that’s not a rehash of the other things she’s done. This girl knows when to call a spade a spade. She can be faulted for a lot of things, but never for integrity when it comes to her word. That’s why she’s still a top endorser, despite her tumultuous personal life.

Charice Pempengco rocked Glee. So she has only appeared on one episode so far, and there’s no telling when she’ll be seen again, but Charice’s agent did say she would be part of a story arc, so we’ll just have to keep our eyes on Glee. Not that that’s going to be tough.

Famous tour guide Carlos Celdran interrupted a mass to promote the RH Bill and was thrown into jail. I’m not decided on the RH Bill just yet, but only because I haven’t studied it in its entirety. If it’s just a matter of sex education, giving free condoms, and teaching people about contraception, then I’m all for it. What I am not for is interrupting a religious ceremony—any religious ceremony, with the exception, perhaps, of one that involves the unwilling sacrifice of human life—in a call for that religious group to respect the rights and beliefs of others. It all boils down to respecting people, in my opinion, and a non-Catholic disturbing a sacred Catholic rite is disrespectful to Catholic people and would likely lead to nothing productive. I’m still a fan of Celdran’s tours and his passion for the country, though. And I’m glad he’s free.

I’m back. It’s nice to continue this ongoing dialogue with you, dear Reader. I always come back to the great white page.

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